WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – The 2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll was released Wednesday and the University of Hawai'i was picked ninth in the 12-team league. Defending conference champion USC was the preseason favorite.

 

The Warriors, which finished 9-18 overall and 6-16 in league play last season, picked up 47 total points. USC, which tied for fifth in the regular season but won the tournament championship, led the way with 112 points and five first place votes. Regular season champion UC Irvine was second with 110 points and five first place votes. Rounding out the rest of the standings were Stanford, BYU, Pepperdine, UCLA, Long Beach State, Cal State Northridge, Hawai'i, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego and Pacific.

 

Hawai'i returns all but one starter from last year's squad including kill leader Joshua Walker. Also returning are middle blockers Steve Grgas and Matthew Rawson, outside hitters Steven Hunt and Gus Tuaniga, libero Ric Cervantes, and setter Nejc Zemljak. UH will look to end its two-year absence from the MPSF Championship Tournament.

 

New to the squad this season is heralded recruit Jonas Umlauft, who led the team in kills during the team's three-day exhibition series against Stanford during the Thanksgiving weekend. Hawai'i split the two full-squad matches against the Cardinal, with each going the full five sets and the Warriors playing without two starters.

 

The top eight teams after the 22 regular season conference matches advance to the MPSF Championship Tournament. The NCAA Championships is May 6 and 8 at Stanford's Maples Pavilion.